The Richardson City Plan Commission on Jan. 7 recommended approval of zoning file 24‑34, a special development plan submitted by Legacy Partners proposing a 443‑unit multifamily project on about 10 acres at 250 East Arapahoe Road.

Staff described the site as located in the Collins‑Arapahoe TOD and Innovation District, within the station subdistrict designed to encourage higher‑density, transit‑oriented mixed use near the DART Arapahoe Center Station. The applicant and staff presented a concept for five buildings—primarily three‑ and four‑story multifamily buildings arranged around courtyards—with townhome units fronting Grove Road and pedestrian connections proposed toward a mapped “special site” that follows an abandoned rail spur.

Project highlights presented to the commission include 443 dwelling units (about 42.5 units per acre), roughly 632 parking spaces (about 1.4 spaces per unit, most in structured parking), a mix of building forms and a high proportion of one‑bedroom units (staff noted roughly 70% one‑bedroom while presenting the unit mix). The plan shows a four‑story building facing Arapahoe with a wrapped parking garage, a U‑shaped 3‑story building with interior courtyard amenity spaces, and townhouse units along Grove Road with front doors oriented to the sidewalk.

Because the property was developed in the 1980s and already contains a substantial streetscape and mature trees, the applicant requested flexibility from current tree/streetscape placement standards so the design can preserve mature trees in the existing park strip along Grove Road. The application also requests consideration for modifying the plan development’s block‑face and ground‑floor building length/separation guidelines in this instance; the applicant told the commission that a north‑south pedestrian cut could be replaced by a more central east‑west connection and additional ground‑level activation through stoops and walkways to maintain security while providing pedestrian access.

Staff said the plan complies with the station subdistrict’s minimum density expectation (40 units per acre) and is consistent with the Envision Richardson comprehensive plan’s transit‑village guidance for the area. The presentation included a note that building material standards are under review and that staff has limited enforcement means for some material standards at the PD concept stage.

There were no public speakers in opposition during the hearing; no written objections were reported in the staff packet. Legacy Partners’ Brian McNally (vice president of development) and his team described the design intent, parking distribution and the project’s role as a potential catalyst for the station area.

Commission debate touched on parking distribution, the preservation of mature trees in Grove’s park strip, pedestrian connections to a future trail/special site and site circulation. Commissioners generally supported the mix of housing types, the station‑oriented density and the effort to preserve existing landscaping where feasible. A motion to recommend approval as presented passed unanimously.

Speakers and participants listed in the record include Holland (planning staff presenting), Brian McNally (Legacy Partners, VP of development), and commissioners Beach, Purdy, Keller, Marsh and others.

Clarifying details: site area about 10 acres; proposed units 443 (about 42.5 units/acre); proposed parking about 632 spaces (≈1.4 per unit); applicant proposes majority one‑bedroom mix (~70%); primary building heights described as three to four stories with townhomes two stories along Grove; applicant proposes retaining existing mature trees in Grove streetscape where possible and requested streetscape flexibility.

Actions: motion to recommend approval of zoning file 24‑34 (Legacy Arapahoe multifamily special development plan) as presented; motion made by Commissioner Beach and seconded (second recorded in transcript); vote recorded in the transcript as unanimous; outcome: recommended for approval to City Council.

Authorities referenced: Collins‑Arapahoe TOD / Innovation District plan development (PD), Envision Richardson comprehensive plan, DART Arapahoe Center Station planning context.

Provenance: topicintro — transcript block starting at 4688.92 with staff introduction: "Our next item is, zoning file, 2434. It's for the, the legacy Arapahoe, a multi family project at 250 East Arapahoe Road."; topfinish — transcript block starting at 7759.62 where the commission closed the public hearing and later voted to recommend approval.